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Finance leaders from the International Monetary Fund's 185 member countries Saturday endorsed a plan announced by major economies to chart a course out of the credit crisis.

The International Monetary and Financial Committee, chaired by Egyptian Finance Minister Youssef Boutros-Ghali, called for “exceptional vigilance, co-ordination, and readiness to take bold action” to address the crisis.

Mr. Boutros-Ghali said the fact that all 185 IMF member countries, including emerging and developing economies, supported the Group of Seven plan.

“We are committed to the plan of action,” he said. “This is an essential element for restoring confidence.”

The G7 on Friday vowed to take all necessary steps to unfreeze credit markets and ensure banks can raise money, but offered no collective course of action to avert a deep global recession.

IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said the committee agreed the IMF should take the lead in looking more in depth at what went wrong and co-ordinate with other institutions.

He said the fund was the right forum for the job, given its universal membership, and that the IMF stood ready with resources to help any country facing financial difficulties due to the crisis.

The IMF cautioned that emerging economies may experience spillover effects from the financial crisis and it was important that they preserve economic stability.

“For these reasons, it is critically important that collaborative action be co-ordinated between advanced and emerging economies,” the panel said.

In advanced economies, the committee said, policies need to provide “essential stimulus in the face of the risk of a pronounced economic downturn, as confidence in the financial system is restored.”

Tonight, leaders of the Group of 20 countries will meet – which includes the G-7 plus the world's biggest developing countries such as China, Brazil and India.

Officials in Europe prepared for a meeting Sunday of the leaders of the 15 nations using the euro currency. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Saturday they opposed to the creation of a common financial rescue fund for Europe.